Saitou replaced the receiver back onto the telephone, soundlessly by habit. Still no answer. A distracted frown creased his features. There was nothing he could do now; if it was done, it was done. He could probably count on his counterpart to act according to the situation anyway, but Saitou Hajime decidedly disliked relying on anyone but himself.
A gong rang distantly from somewhere else in the school, and the little silver bell on his table gave a tiny tinkle in answer. Dinner. He took off his glasses and carefully massaged his temples; he would forgo dinner tonight. He couldn't be farther away from hungry.
"What, not eating tonight? Forsaken the 'healthy diet' theory, then?"
With his back to the window, Saitou gave no sign of surprise, but his lips twitched briefly in relief. Meticulously replacing the fine silver-framed lenses on his nose, he swivelled his chair around to face the slender figure seated casually in the window, silhouetted in the early moonlight. "Did you?"
"No."
A deep sigh, most uncharacteristic, very nearly escaped the confines of his chest. "That's…good. You saw them, then?"
"Yes."
"I will keep a close watch on the two, for now. I believe the girl will not pose much of a problem, but the boy…" He unconsciously tapped his glasses on the polished wooden armrest of his chair. "Kenshin, I believe. Himura Kenshin. An unassuming name," he mused. "And if Sano and Yahiko get entangled in this, we might as well abandon operation. We put everything on hold for the moment, yes?"
"Whatever you say."
"Good. Proceed with investigations and surveillance, report back as usual."
"Mm."
"And, Aoshi…"
The figure paused, half-turned to go.
"Be careful."
Dinner had been terrible. The food was excellent, like everything else provided in the school; but unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of the company.
There had been two long tables in grand total in the huge dining hall, probably designed for a more worthy use in the institution's past days of glory. One had been for the teachers, and had been deathly quiet. The dozen or so men and women who lived in the school seemed to be determinedly interested in food and nothing but food; vaguely unsettling, reckoned Kenshin, in comparison with their easy banter with their students during the day.
But then, that was nothing compared to the fragments of conversations thrown back and forth at the students' table. Bits and pieces of various wide-ranging discussions evidently continued from some other time left both him and Misao rather lost, but he thought he preferred that to the silent pauses in between, in which the pair of them tried uneasily to down their food amid the stares from two scores of curious eyes.
They ate as much as they could stand, as quickly as they could manage, and excused themselves as politely as haste allowed. At least, Kenshin did. Misao ran as soon as her brother got to his feet.
"I change my mind. I stand corrected. I beg forgiveness. Let's move. Now!"
They were standing some distance from the dining hall, along the corridor where the lockers were. Kenshin appeared to ignore his sister, simply giving her occasional prods to keep her walking. In retrospect, he thought he should have known better. Misao exploded.
"KEN! You donkey's behind…"
"Shh!" Kenshin placed a hand over her mouth, his brow darkened by a rare frown. "Misao, this is no place to fool around. I thought we established that this morning. Do us both a favour and keep your wits with you, please? And if you're going to change your mind about moving twice a day, we might as well just go back to the Haven."
Misao shook her head frantically, her dark blue eyes wide and glimmering in the deepening night. Despite having known him her whole life, there were still only so many times she had seen him actually angry. And this was not one of them. She tried to swallow meekly. "Nmm. Mm schmmy."
Kenshin let go and arched an eyebrow at her. She repeated, "No. I'm sorry."
"Yes, and so am I." His smile did seem apologetic. "But keep it in mind, alright?"
She simply nodded quickly. There was nothing more to say.
"Right." Kenshin looked around thoughtfully. They were a few yards away from the office, and the staircase wound away to their right. He nodded. "I trust you won't want to go to bed just yet." Not a question; a statement of fact. "Want to pay Kaoru a visit?"
"And you are going where?"
"Out." His voice dropped a little lower, and his violet eyes flickered towards the steady line of rooftops dark against the sky. "A little basic scouting is in order, I think. But I don't want both of us to vanish at once on our first night; you need to cover for me. And," he forestalled her protests with a hand, "and I think you're going to like Kaoru. Trust me."
Misao opened her mouth; he hurriedly continued, "Next time you get to come, of course. As usual." His kid sister accompanied her smile with a little roll of the eyes, but he could overlook that.
Taking another quick glance down the hallway, he gestured towards the stairs. "One floor up, Misao. Turn left at the head of the stairs, continue past three sets of double doors. The fourth has some sort of medical sign on it. Last bed on the right. Ask before you barge in. Okay?" Misao nodded once; he continued, "I will call when I get back. Go to the spot where Kaoru was found this morning, and look up."
She nodded again. Kenshin sensed some amusement, and he wasn't amused. "Stay alert, girl."
He supposed he ought to be satisfied. He turned and strode towards the dormitories; there were some items he would need from his luggage. But two steps from the exit, he hesitated, and called one last caution over his shoulder.
"Don't trust anyone."